Happy 5th Birthday, Kendall!

I CANNOT believe Kendall turned FIVE!!! So crazy!

Kendall,

You are an energetic, compassionate, bright, and witty little girl! What joy you bring to our little family. You hit the ground running daily, which keeps your mama on her toes! Right now your favorite things are books, Fresh Beat Band, dress up, shoes, pancakes, going to school, root beer, learning new things, being a big sister, frozen yogurt, anything arts and crafts, talking, playing pretend, and eating at restaurants. You still turn everything into a musical, which we adore. You work best with order and routine and have a difficult time when the plans change spur of the moment. (Sorry, you get that from me!) School has been a great thing for you and you are thriving there! You attend daily from 8-3 and get SO UPSET if you have to miss even part of a day. Being the social butterfly you are, you've made lots of new friends. You are still afraid of animals but are doing a lot better. Another thing you really don't like is sleeping in a dark room, which is the total opposite of your sister. At night, we leave your lamp on and you fall asleep "reading" books. You wake up at 7:00 sharp (or earlier) everyday. Naps are pretty much over with, unless you've had an especially tiresome day. You wear size 5 clothes and size 11.5 or 12 shoe. I am pretty sure you are the tallest kid in your class and you are not even the oldest! We love all your funny school stories and very fluent vocabulary. Some of the things you say and the way you say it makes us feel like we are talking to an adult. It cracks us up. You are most certainly 5 going on 15. We love you SO SO SO SO much and are so thankful for your little 5 years! 

For Kendall's birthday this year, we decided to do several little things instead of a party. On Saturday, Kendall and I painted pottery. We invited our friends Holly and Grace to go with us. It was a fun little day out! The girls each picked out their own pottery piece and the moms helped them paint it. After painting, we walked to get ice cream then played at the park. Grace spent the night with Kendall, which was also a big treat. Kendall was SOOOO excited to have her over!

On Kendall's actual birthday, she was up as soon as she heard my feet hit the ground. I usually get up around 6:15 so I can have some quiet time before everyone else gets up and Kendall knows that even if she wakes up early, she isn't supposed to get up until 7:00. She has an alarm clock in her room and can look at books or whatever (talk and play with Arden if they are both awake) but she's not supposed to be out of the bed. Anyway, birthdays are kind-of different, so I let her come in the living room and hang with me. Evan got up soon after and made special birthday pancakes, which is usually just a Saturday treat. Kendall opted to open her presents before school and she was SO SO SO excited! We got her a pair of Twinkle Toes, a Fresh Beat Band t-shirt, and a cute hat. No joke, Kendall asked for three things this year and that was it! She wanted Twinkle Toes, GOLD Toms, and new rain boots! No toys! Isn't that so funny?! Soooo...we got her the Twinkle Toes. She LOVES them and even told me when I picked her up from school yesterday that she loved the Twinkle Toes so much she didn't even care if she didn't get the gold Toms! I thought that was really sweet. We have totally cracked up at these shoes, though. It's like having your own personal laser show. Evan, last night, slammed on his breaks in the car because he mistook her light-up shoes for police lights! And this was even after we'd heard this happening to another friend of ours! 

Arden and I took cupcakes to school for Kendall to enjoy with her class, and that was fun. We even stayed and played outside for a little bit, and I loved watching Kendall interact with her classmates. She is such a social butterfly! That evening, we took Kendall for a birthday dinner at Chick-Fil-A and then she asked if we could go walk around at the mall afterwards. Again, how old did she turn? Five, right?

Such a great day celebrating a precious little girl!

Happy #5, Kendall!!! And many more!